Chapter 125: Semenu Baperr (3)

“Even the fruits of a humble creature, when given time and gathered together, become a plausible treasure.”

The newly born Semenu’s ears were open.

She could see Nurmakan’s form, and she could hear what he said.

However, she could not read what was contained within.

His eyes were curved, and the corners of his mouth were raised. His teeth were clearly visible without any covering.

Laughter. Semenu later learned the concept through Nurmakan’s education. She could not understand it.

“You are a child of illusion. Of this father.”

Nurmakan is a father.

Illusion was an easier concept than father. It was something familiar to Semenu, who was born from the first generation’s dust.

Joy, love. Nurmakan educated Semenu on the emotions he had just felt. They were easier concepts than laughter. He said it was a reward received for doing what was asked well.

Family and father were not the same meaning. There was more. There was an older sister, and he said there was the sister’s mother.

Whenever her father rejoiced and gave her love, Semenu saw pity in her older sister. Her father did not give his older sister love.

Then. Isn’t this jealousy?

“She is a defective product. Do not lay your eyes on her.”

Emotions that are not close are difficult.

So… her father’s emotions are easy.

He rejoices when she kills a person with eyes full of what is called fear. He said her nature was Degrate. As far as she knew, it was the highest praise.

The Melken Empire declared war. It presided over the continent’s unification, and the Doom Species became the continent’s public enemy.

Semenu also joined, holding her father’s hand. Her older sister Jiaren and her mother were dispatched to a distant place.

“It is for your sake.”

Semenu also agreed with her father’s words.

He said there was nothing good in being near something difficult to understand. Certainly, Jiaren’s emotions were difficult for Semenu to understand. It was like laughter.

It’s hard. Semenu could realize that feeling herself. Five years. She learned for the first time that time could flow so slowly.

Her father’s education was over, but in fact, there were still many things in the world she didn’t know.

Defeat. Humanity was no different from already having been defeated. Semenu took her father’s hand and left for the north. A rugged backwater. In the Serepes Mountain Range, he said there was a Doom Species that had recommended persuasion.

She didn’t want to remember, and to state only the result, it wasn’t so. Her father fortunately escaped, and as a price, Semenu lost her limbs. Well done. Her father, before fleeing, gave her love in relief.

…The man was shining. The piled-up snow made him look that way. Exa Baperr. To the man who reattached her limbs, Semenu said she was abandoned.

When asked by whom she was abandoned, she said it was the Doom Species of Serepes.

Goodwill. The man was showing such a concept. It was an emotion that could be used.

Her body had finished recovering. It was now time to return to her father. The Northern Grand Duke said she could not do so without the man’s permission.

Why? A family should rightfully be together. When would her sister Jiaren’s dispatch end?

“Nurmakan? Where is that bastard?”

“He must be recuperating.”

“What are you talking about? Does that bastard have four arms and legs each? Still not recuperated?”

“No.”

“Then just follow me. If you don’t want to lose your limbs again.”

…She was dragged around by force.

The man. Exa was good at catching the uncatchable illusion.

If she hid in the shadows, he would grab her head and pull her out.

When she shook him off and was sure of her escape, he would already be in front of her.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’m laughing because it’s fun.”

He was a man who laughed easily.

Exa would laugh whenever their eyes met. He said it was fun just looking at her.

“Is it still fun now?”

“You think it’s fun? A Doom Species.”

“But you laughed.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know.”

He was a man who didn’t even know why he was laughing.

He was different from her father. Her father was a person who could always accurately explain his emotions.

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying.”

“You are. You were enjoying it yesterday, killing the Doom Species.”

Cause and effect is the most suitable process for realizing something.

Semenu found out that Exa only laughed on a battlefield where there were no allies.

“Is it because he died?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know either.”

No.

She knows. Semenu knew very well that it was a lie. It was one of the easy concepts.

Exa was bad at lying, and he cries on battlefields where allies are sacrificed.

Her father taught her that it is sadness only when tears come out… but it wasn’t so. Maybe her father wasn’t that smart after all.

There were still many things left in the world she didn’t know.

“Good job.”

“What did I do well?”

“You saved him. Him. You did.”

“What about it?”

Exa would often pat her head.

It was when she saved someone. Not when she killed someone. He rejoiced when it was the opposite of her father.

The things her father didn’t know were more difficult than she thought.

“Captain.”

“What.”

“Just because.”

Since when was it?

From when the number of members in Baperr increased? No. I remember it being before that.

“Do you want to go to Degrate?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why.”

“I don’t know.”

I don’t know.

The phrase that Exa often used stuck to Semenu’s lips as well.

According to her father, it is the best means of evasion.

“Then stay by my side until you know.”

“Is that okay?”

“I’ll allow it if you become a Baperr.”

“I’m part of the Baperr unit.”

“Not that. Your name. I’m telling you to be Semenu Baperr now.”

“I’ll think about it.”

It was from then.

From when something inside, whether it was her lungs or heart, an unknown organ, started to feel ticklish.

Semenu called Exa ‘Captain’.

“Captain. He called me a doll.”

“What? Who.”

“Urkel Liont.”

“What? Where is that bastard?”

“Am I a doll?”

“No. That bastard is a blind bastard who can’t even distinguish people.”

Urkel Liont was a new member of the Baperr unit.

When he first saw Semenu, he had frowned as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

But not long after, he came rolling over and apologized. The captain was kicking him with his foot, and his limbs were broken.

“You don’t have to apologize. I think I am a doll.”

She was looking at a dictionary.

Doll. A toy of Nurmakan, made in the shape of a person.

“You’re a Baperr. Not a doll.”

While the captain was beating Urkel for several weeks, Nurmakan came to visit. Why? Come to think of it, family was a relationship that could not be severed even if cut.

That must be why he came.

“Do you want to go back?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then what should I do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright.”

At that time, Semenu realized she had taken one step closer to the world.

She thought she had gotten a little closer to the captain’s emotions.

“You son of a bitch. Sign it.”

Serepes comes to mind.

Nurmakan’s limbs were rolling on the floor. After reattaching his right arm, the captain held out a contract.

“He said it’s a proposal.”

“What is? The contract? It’s not about that.”

“The captain told me to become a Baperr. He said it’s a confession.”

“Who said that?”

“Urkel.”

“You still listen to that bastard?”

“He said he’s sorry. He’s nice to me now.”

“If he has a conscience, he should be.”

“He said he’ll be like that until he dies.”

“Still, filter what that bastard says.”

“It’s not a confession?”

“It’s not.”

The Urkel she met again actually corrected her that it wasn’t a confession, but strangely, he didn’t correct the emotion Semenu mentioned.

He said it was the right one.

“I am a Baperr.”

“Suddenly?”

“I’ve decided.”

“What are you talking about? Why do you get to decide that?”

“Then who decides?”

“I do. I’m the Baperr.”

“Am I not a Baperr? Am I too late?”

“Your claim is too late. You were a Baperr from the moment you met me.”

Nurmakan.

Was wrong.

He was not a person who could dare to discuss emotions. Emotions were something that could not be explained. They could not be educated, and they were not something done with words.

“I don’t know.”

The captain was the right answer.

***

“No. I’d rather die.”

The captain.

The reincarnated Simurtr says before my eyes.

Even though he has already died once. Even though he has become like this.

He is upright. Honest. He shines. I thought it was because of the piled-up snow, but now I know it’s not.

“Semenu, you said you were mine. If you’re going to do everything I say, then just follow me.

Don’t do anything. Just follow behind me with your hands behind your back.”

Semenu can’t be that intense, but.

She can now imitate him to some extent.

She understands the captain. And sympathizes with him.

“Those bastards. Dite… no, Diwates Popo, the Emperor, Bahab, Basor, the Saintess. Don’t touch any of them. Just watch. Those bastards are all mine. I will kill them.”

“Then the captain will die.”

“I won’t die.”

“You will. The captain is weak. You almost died to a weakened Taparel.”

“I’m weakened too. I’ll wait until I get stronger. In the end, I’ll win against them all.”

“You didn’t wait.”

“…When I met Akarr, I waited. I’ll really wait now.”

“What if you don’t wait again?”

“Then, at that time, just do as you please.”

“Okay.”

If she argues and argues.

If she clings to the end.

The captain eventually gives in.

“Does Aran Lubeil also know?”

“Know what?”

“That the captain is being greedy. Is he the same as me?”

“I don’t know.”

“I see.”

As expected.

For now, he is still equally special.

***

“You smile well now?”

“It’s because the captain taught me.”

“But why didn’t you smile like this in the old days?”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“The captain didn’t see it.”

It was the bed. Simurtr was sitting on the edge, slowly stretching his upper body muscles.

Semenu used his thigh as a pillow.

“Gerehk is letting it slide because it’s you and Aran.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t do that from next time.”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t tell the other kids, right?”

“The captain told me not to.”

“Right. Don’t ever tell them.”

“Yes.”

Semenu was curious about what happened before meeting Taparel. That is, Poruo.

Simurtr started with the running around in circles.

“Peres Art?”

“You know him?”

“No.”

“You don’t? He’s from a contract family of the White Tower. Isn’t that information Degrate has?”

“…I think so.”

What could Peres Art be doing now?

He must be preparing to return soon. If the Deputy Director of the Information Bureau is a magician worth his salt, he will hear Peres Art’s report and think of the possibility of Phantasmal Ability.

“They say there’s a memoir.”

“The captain’s?”

“Yeah. You’re not surprised?”

“It passed through the hands of the Empire. Degrate already knows.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I’m kidding. Even if you had told me, I would have gone to check for myself.”

Even if he had known the contents beforehand, nothing would have changed.

He would have gone there himself and tried to burn it somehow.

“Ah. I told Sharen to take a measurement.”

Sharen probably would have figured out the general location of the Rift’s exit. There are many variables, but she has Deban by her side, who knows this side well.

“You were going to do it alone anyway.”

“I didn’t know that bastard was Taparel. I thought there would be many of them when I arrived.”

That was the reason he only requested a measurement.

If it was that chaotic, he couldn’t guarantee Sharen’s safety. He would have rather wanted support.

“Would you have fought even then?”

“No. I would have run away. Or stalled for time until support arrived.”

A satisfactory answer.

Semenu nodded her head.

“I’ll tell Sharen and Mectera.”

“Alright. Ah, that Sharen girl is pretty good.”

“I said she was nice.”

“I thought that was just your opinion. To you, even Jiaren is nice.”

“She is.”

“Right. That’s not wrong.”

Sharen Degrate.

A pretty decent kid. She has prospects and talent.

If she fixed just one thing, he was willing to gladly teach her the principles of the Star-Breaking Style.

“But why doesn’t she call you aunt?”

“You didn’t ask?”

“I was going to ask later.”

Semenu mumbled her lips before speaking.

“…Don’t ask.”

“Why? I need to know that to fix it or not.”

“It doesn’t need to be fixed.”

“Then are you going to live being called ‘hey hey’ by that young kid? How old are you?”

“…It’s not that bad.”

“What is? Her? Your age?”

“Both.”

“Semenu. You said you’re similar to my master. Then that’s about right.”

“……”

Semenu’s pupils shook slightly. She then glared at Simurtr before letting out a sigh.

“Don’t get involved with the Doom Species anymore.”

She changed the subject.

“Don’t worry. I’ll only crush Kua.”

“There are many people besides the captain who can do that kind of work.”

Peace gives birth to all sorts of hopeful things.

If people learn of Kua’s atrocities, there will be no shortage of those who will be enraged by it.

And there are already Degrate and Mectera. The Information Bureau will help, and if need be, he can also put in a request to the mercenaries of Poruo.

“I know. But I’m going to do it.”

“…That’s as far as it goes.”

But Semenu didn’t push any further.

She knows why Simurtr is obsessed with Kua.

It’s the same as in his past life. He has weakened, his body has become frail, and his face has become less handsome… but Simurtr was ultimately the captain. He seemed to have changed, but he hadn’t.

That fact made Semenu excited and at the same time heavy. It felt as if he would walk the same path as in his past life.

“Ah. I’m thinking of visiting Baramant too.”

“…Why Baramant?”

“Aren’t they a group formed to crush the Doom Species? There’s nothing bad about meeting them.”

Mectera, the Information Bureau, and Degrate.

Listing them out, they are all great names.

But their opponent is that Doom Species. No amount of preparation is enough.

Just as it was with Taparel, now would be their weakest moment. He had to crush them as much as he could.

‘They were all mine.’

Simurtr forced himself to swallow his disappointment.

It was also over-ambitious. A Spirit Medium existed. How many wandering Doom Species souls must there be?

Probably the big shots will survive. Luer would be one of them. That would be the share of the future Simurtr who has finished his revenge someday.

“There are many groups besides Baramant that hate the Doom Species.”

“No.”

Simurtr thought of Lachlan. And the reliable captain he mentioned. Baramant would surely be a great help.

“After the war, there were no groups formed solely to look at the Doom Species. Baramant will surely be helpful. You trust my gut, don’t you?”

“……”

There is a set moment when the captain’s gut is accurate.

It must be related to the sword, the enemy, and battle.

In fact… at other times, it’s just so-so. It wasn’t even at a level where he could say it was amazing even with empty words.

But if she were to pick a fight with that and try to interfere with the meeting… it would become troublesome.

Semenu decided to let this situation pass for now.

“Don’t do that to the heroes either. The Imperial family too.”

“The Information Bureau?”

“…No. The Imperial family is behind them.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Not yet. Don’t touch any of them.”

“I’m not.”

“You already did it to Bahab.”

“It went over well. I even learned the Swelling Flame.”

“You learned it from Haryun Bahab.”

Semenu’s eyes, looking up at Simurtr, narrowed.

They weren’t that sharp.

‘The lover’s heart is firm.’

The crow of Hella. Semenu remembered what James had reported without missing a single syllable.

The one to be careful of is not Simurtr. It’s Haryun Bahab.

“It’s all the same, isn’t it.”

“You were lucky.”

“I know.”

If it weren’t for Haryun Bahab, he wouldn’t have even been able to see the Swelling Flame.

It was a Swelling Flame that could only be learned by giving up the position of Mectera’s adopted son and becoming Bahab’s son-in-law.

“But I have to go to Basor.”

“Because of magic?”

“Yeah.”

“Kaliak Basor is different from Akarr Bahab.”

“I know. That’s why I showed him the Phantasmal Ability.”

Akarr has a desire for talent.

That desire was so great that she developed a whole territory into a training center to nurture talent.

And as much as such an Akarr.

Simurtr was confident that he knew Kaliak Basor well too.

‘Though I didn’t expect Barote.’

He would be similar to Akarr.

He had changed, but he wouldn’t have changed completely.

Phantasmal Ability would be enough bait for that man to bite.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no harm comes to Degrate. As long as we hide the relationship between the main family and Degrate well, there’s no problem.”

“I’m a Baperr.”

“Didn’t you just say Jiaren was nice?”

“If you’re worried about Degrate, you can just go to the Sage’s Castle.”

“What connection does Mectera have with the Sage’s Castle?”

“If you put it that way, Basor is more difficult.”

Mectera and Basor are the most famous arch-rivals in Melken.

“There’s Meram Athor.”

“What. You know that too?”

Meram had been offered a disciple position at the Sage’s Castle during her academy days.

“She’s next to the captain.”

“Forget it. Why go that far?”

“There’s Melia too.”

“What I want to learn is Basor’s magic.”

Simurtr does not desire simple magic.

The reason he coveted the Swelling Flame is because it belongs to Bahab. Simurtr wanted to know about Basor’s magic.

* * *

“What are you going to do about Peres Art?”

“I’ll just have to leave him be.”

“I don’t think he’ll recognize the Phantasmal Ability.”

When they talked about Peres Art, Semenu described him as an idiot.

“Well then. Someone else will come. It would be even better if a spellcaster came this time.”

“They found out the Information Bureau’s information was false. If Peres Art doesn’t report in detail, the captain will die.”

As Semenu saw it, Simurtr was trusting Peres Art too much.

It wasn’t limited to Peres, but a universal faith in humanity.

He’s still a person. Surely not that far.

That’s what Simurtr is thinking.

“Peres Art won’t report everything he experienced. He’ll only report the results.”

“Come on. No way.”

“Urkel said so. He said the captain’s standards are too high.”

It means his expectations are high.

The captain doesn’t know the heart of the untalented. Isn’t that still true even now that he has reincarnated?

Thanks to his weakened body, it has gotten a little better, but that attitude is still firm.

“Should I go and tell him?”

“That’s too blatant.”

“Then?”

“You know, Captain.”

Semenu looked at the feigning-ignorance Simurtr with disbelief.

“What?”

“I told you. The captain is bad at acting.”

“Others seem to be fooled just fine.”

“Baperr isn’t fooled.”

“Hey. Ayul would be fooled.”

“That’s because Ayulsor Terkan only listens to the captain.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“It’s different. Don’t lie to me. I’ll send you even if you don’t.”

“Ah, really? You should have said so sooner.”

Simurtr grinned as if relieved.

That smile is the very reason why Semenu can’t bring herself to hate the captain.

“…Just don’t overdo it.”

“I won’t.”

“You have to leave some room.”

“I know.”

If Phantasmal Ability doesn’t reach Basor’s ears.

He can just shove it in himself.

“Don’t forget, Captain. It’s the north.”

Semenu took something out of the shadow.

It was the pass that had been on the magician’s corpse.

“A pity. That it’s not that son of a bitch’s land.”

“…That’s a relief.”

The land of the traitor Diwates Popo is further away.

North of the Great Desert Hindra. The principality of Lampina, which is in charge of the northern entrance to the great desert.

…The pass of the magician who had kidnapped the children was for passing through that place.

“A branch of the Red Tower. It’s okay to destroy that, right?”

“Killing is not okay.”

“Of course. That’s a given.”

“……”

The Red Tower of Basor.

The next biggest trash can after the White Tower.

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